The Hundred: ECB reveals playing conditions

ECB chief executive Tom Harrison says England’s Test players will feature in The Hundred - but may not be available for all of the competition.

ECB chief executive Tom Harrison says England’s Test players will feature in The Hundred - but may not be available for all of the competition.

The England and Wales Cricket Board has already unveiled the main playing conditions for its new 100-ball format, which will be called The Hundred.

Set to launch in 2020, a match will comprise of an innings lasting 100 balls per side, with a change of ends after every 10 deliveries.

Bowlers will deliver either five or 10 consecutive balls but are restricted to a maximum of 20 per match, while each fielding side gets a strategic timeout of up to two and a half minutes.

A 25-ball powerplay will start each side's innings, where only two fielders will be allowed outside the initial 30-yard circle.

Chris Gayle has expressed an interest in playing in 'The Hundred'

Many of these innovations were piloted across six days last September at Loughborough and Nottingham's Trent Bridge - one of the eight venues along with Lord's, The Oval, the Ageas Bowl, Edgbaston, Sophia Gardens, Headingley and Old Trafford.

ECB chief executive Tom Harrison said: "There has been overwhelming support from the game to make the transition from the new competition to The Hundred.

"Signing off the playing conditions is a significant moment. Another staging post before player draft at the end of the year.

"There's a huge summer of stuff ahead of us. Work is being done at the moment on the team identities.

"There's a lot of research into building authenticity on those identities, so people can relate to them from those communities and beyond. We'll work hard to make sure the timing is right, so it doesn't butt up against other priorities."

The new format will be added to a busy summer schedule and has not escaped criticism from some quarters but Harrison is confident it will prove popular.

"It's already a successful event in terms of not just finances but the excitement generated," he said.

"I'm very confident the game will get behind us. We've done a lot of work to understand concerns from fans and we're listening to those concerns."

ECB chief executive Tom Harrison says the unveiling of the playing conditions is a 'significant moment' for the new tournament

Big-hitting West Indies batsman Chris Gayle is one player who has already said he would be willing to feature in the new tournament if drafted.

Harrison added: "We'd love to have Chris involved, I'm keen to have a conversation and see what he thinks.

"He's played in probably all the major tournaments around the world, and his view is very much worth listening to, [in order to] see how we can make this even more exciting.